Peaceful Night of Protest as National Guard Ordered Out of Ferguson

A demonstrator protesting the shooting of Michael Brown waves the American flag Aug. 21, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo. Crowds continue to gather to march in the wake of Brown’s being fatally shot by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson Aug. 9.

Joshua LOTT/AFP/Getty Images

As a hot Thursday evening gave way to Friday morning, temperatures between police and protesters seemed to have cooled, with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporting another peaceful night of protesting the death of unarmed teen Michael Brown, who was fatally shot by officer Darren Wilson, in Ferguson, Mo.

Protesters gathered, marched and shouted, but in the end there was very little interaction between demonstrators and police. The Post-Dispatch notes that only seven people were arrested, five for failure to disperse and two for other minor offenses. This marks the second day of single-digit arrests, with the Associated Press noting that only six people were arrested Wednesday, a significant drop from Tuesday's arrest total of 47.

"Today we had a good day," Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ronald S. Johnson, who was given control of the police force during the protests, said at a press conference early Friday morning.

The second day of peaceful protesting came shortly after Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon called for the Missouri National Guard, which arrived Monday to help quell some of the turmoil between protesters and police, to begin withdrawing from Ferguson.

"I feel we're making progress," Nixon told KMOX-AM, but stated that the state of emergency in Ferguson had not been lifted.

According to AP, several protesters called for St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch, who has several family members on the St. Louis police force, to be removed from the case. Both McCulloch's father and mother worked as officers, and AP notes that "his father was killed while responding to a call involving a black suspect."

McCulloch has no plans to step aside on his own and has asked the governor to decide whether or not he will have him recused, noting in a statement that Nixon must "end this distraction" or risk delays in the investigation, AP reports.